The Kilkenny Daytrip

I was completely exhausted last night, so I just put up the pictures because I didn't have the energy to write about my day.
I'm still tired this morning (haven't been sleeping well) but I'll relay a few details so that you may live vicariously through me.

Though I was planning on taking the bus up to Kilkenny today, Christine invited me to go with the family on Monday instead, so that worked out really well. (I'm especially grateful since its pouring rain at the moment!)Kerry and Lee

I met her parents who are over from England for the Easter holidays- they were an absolute delight! Very funny and very British! (In case you were momentarily confused, the picture is of Christine's children...not her parents!!!)
I think the drive was about two hours, and we were glad to get out of the van to stretch our legs when we arrived.
The city was really cool, I liked it immediately. It had unplanned helter-skelter cobblestone streets winding this way and that, tall brightly-painted shops crammed together, each vying for a little window space to clutter with their goods. Neon signs were nowhere to be seen, everything was painted in that retro vintage look. There were dark little nooks and alleyways called Butterslips weaving between the main streets. Very cool.
Kilkenny Castle dominates the centre of the town and it was packed with tourists (like me!) even this early in the season. I couldn't get the tour of the inside because it was already full. I wandered the gardens instead, and we took a peek inside the design centre which was full of all kinds of high-end souvenirs and goods. I coveted some of the woolen stuff, especially the blankets. The jewelery was beautiful as well, and I treated myself to a little silver celtic knot ring because it was reasonably priced, and it was on my list of things to get that I made before I left. Unfortunately my fingers were swollen when I bought it, so as soon as the swelling went down, I realized its a little too big! Oh well.
We ate lunch at the cafe above the design centre, which was very "posh" to lil ol' Humble Spud* Jill. I loved the look of it though, with dark hardwood floors and exposed beams on the ceiling, big round windows, and white-washed stone walls...siiiigh. Beautiful.
Afterwards I parted company with Christine & co. to do a little exploring on my own. I had 3 destinations in mind: Rothe House, Black Abbey, and St. Canice's Cathedral. I had forgotten Matt's guidebook at home, I had no map, and I couldn't for the life of me find the tourist office! No problem. My keen sense of direction luck will get me there!
Many random churches and quiet roads later, I stumbled across Black Abbey. It didn't look as interesting as I had hoped, so I just passed it by and spotted a tower in the distance.
St. Canice's Cathedral sounded like the most interesting stop judging from the guidebook, mostly because it had a tower that you could climb for a view of the city. Ever the thrill-seeker, that made it my first priority...


There didn't appear to be anyone around to give the tour of the church, so I meandered over to the tower and peeked inside. It was there that I met this guy:I wish I had got his name. He was the funniest guy ever, very friendly and we chatted for like 20 minutes inside this tiny little tower. He had been to Canada so we talked about that, and we talked about Ireland and the differences between Canadian French and European French (I'm an expert, dontcha know?). He was really awesome, and very touched that a crazy Canadian tourist would want his picture haha! (I think he must get lonely sitting in that tower all day). When we parted after my climb, we shook hands and he kissed me on the cheek, and told me to send his love to Canada. I swear it wasn't creepy! He was a really sweet old guy.
The Tower itself was pretty cool as well. To get in you had to duck through a tiny door and pay your 3 euro, then there was a ladder to climb.
Then you got to a floor, took two steps to rotate yourself in the opposite direction, and climbed another ladder. Repeat five times and dizzify well. After the top ladder you had to squeeze through a narrow opening in the stone ceiling and then you were on top! Here's the view.

About four German (I think?) tourist guys were right behind me and they were laughing hysterically (which was a little...unnerving!). Finally one of them pointed below and said, "One of our friends is stuck halfway! He got scared...won't go up, won't go down!"
It was pretty funny.
After that I just wandered the town, eventually found the tourist info centre, and then met up with the group to head home. We took the scenic route, where I saw the castle in Cloheen, the view from a mountaintop in Waterford, Lismore Castle, and Ballyduff. Exciting stuff!
Anyway I've just got back from another day out- this time I spent the afternoon in Mallow. It wasn't the most thrilling experience of my life, but I did get to see a castle ruin, which I might post pictures of later. For now, I'm going to go sleep or something. I'm completely wrecked.



*Tragedy occurred recently...the Humble Spud was closed and repainted a hideous shade of green (I didn't know there was such a thing, but there is) and renamed. I almost cried. Not really.